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OMB Urged to ‘Harmonize’ Secure Software Development Requirements
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OMB Urged to ‘Harmonize’ Secure Software Development Requirements

The Information Technology Industry Council has called on the Office of Management and Budget to create a standardized rulemaking process for the implementation of secure software development requirements across the federal government.

The letter, which is addressed to OMB Director Shalanda Young, includes recommendations to support the government’s progress in achieving these milestones, the council disclosed on Monday.

Gordon Bitko, executive vice president of policy for public sector at ITI, expressed his concerns regarding potential variation in the government’s movement within secure software development, which can cause ambiguity and slow the attainment of federal software security goals.

“Software producers face significant barriers, including ambiguous terminology, confusing timelines, and the potential for regulatory fragmentation,” Bitko said.

In the letter, ITI refers to an OMB memo released in September that aims to require agencies obtain a self-attestation from software developers before using their products, which the letter states is currently not mandated under any FAR clause. According to ITI, this may lead to unnecessary agency investments in developing tailored requirements that may not meet the updated standards of a new clause.

To address these concerns, ITI urged the OMB to ensure that federal agencies are using one standardized form when requesting self-attestation from software companies that includes the option to request addendums for mission-specific requirements.

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NAVSEA Seeks Out Potential Services to Upgrade USS Zumwald
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NAVSEA Seeks Out Potential Services to Upgrade USS Zumwald

The Naval Sea Systems Command has released a sources sought announcement regarding a new program that aims to upgrade various components and systems of Zumwalt-class destroyers.

To enhance the supportability and interoperability of the Zumwalt Class destroyers, the command is currently conducting market research to assess opportunities to achieve this goal, according to a SAM.gov notice issued last week.

The new Zumwalt Enterprise Upgrade Solution concept strives support these improvements through the replacement of Zumwalt-specific components and systems with analogous systems typically used with other Navy surface combatants.

As stated on the announcement, the command is seeking industry input to determine potential sources for software development, technical leadership and facilities and manpower to support this combat system equipment integration.

NAVSEA said the ZEUS program seeks to replace Zumwalt’s AN/SPY-3 radar with the AN/SPY-6(v)3 air and missile defense radar.

Items being considered in the upgrade include the destroyers’ common displays, internal electronics, combat system computer program, the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program and the SQQ-89 undersea warfare combat system.

Responses to the RFI are due Dec. 16.

The notice follows the deployment of the USS Zumwalt, the lead ship of the Zumwalt class, for a three-month underway in the Western Pacific. Services sought out are intended to be utilized during the ship’s maintenance availability in late 2023, according to a report from USNI News.

During this period, HII‘s Ingalls Shipbuilding division will also outfit USS Zumwalt with hypersonic missiles at its shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the report stated.

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NASA to Test Communications Tech for Air Mobility Ecosystem With PC-12 Aircraft
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NASA to Test Communications Tech for Air Mobility Ecosystem With PC-12 Aircraft

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has acquired a Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to support aeronautic research efforts, including the assessment of commercial communications technology platforms for the national airspace.

PC-12 is a turboprop aircraft that has a pressurized cabin, can operate at altitudes of up 30,000 feet at a speed of 322 miles per hour and can land on short runways, NASA said Monday.

“We plan to evaluate the performance of a NASA partner prototype radio system, cellular services, and satellite technologies for critical information exchanges between aircraft and air traffic service providers during flight in an urban environment,” said Rafael Apaza, associate project manager for the Air Traffic Management eXploration project.

“The PC-12 allows us to put these technologies through good, rigorous tests in optimal locations and at altitudes where new urban vehicles will likely operate,” added Apaza.

Apaza’s team will test data exchanges and transfer rates to radio ground platforms by mounting commercial antenna systems on the aircraft’s belly.

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CISA Issues Updated Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework; David Mussington Quoted
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CISA Issues Updated Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework; David Mussington Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has updated its Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework that guides state, local, tribal and territorial officials in planning efforts to secure critical infrastructure from future threats. 

The updated framework provides SLTT planners with access to a new data tool that identifies critical infrastructure, timely drought resilience information through the National Drought Resilience Partnership and revised resilience concepts to improve their understanding of infrastructure systems, CISA said on Tuesday. 

“The updates to the IRPF will help planners better understand how to approach future threats and hazards so they can be prepared to meet and recover from an incident,” said David Mussington, executive assistant director for infrastructure security at CISA.

New guidance under the framework recommends that SLTT officials consider a diverse range of opinions and interests during the planning process. In this area, the IRPF suggests that planners conduct a stakeholder assessment in collaboration with a selected project champion to identify which organizations should be included.

The framework was first introduced in 2021 in an effort to assist state and local leaders in incorporating critical infrastructure resilience considerations into their decision-making and planning activities.

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USAID Announces $4.5B Additional Support to Ukraine; Treasury’s Janet Yellen Quoted
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USAID Announces $4.5B Additional Support to Ukraine; Treasury’s Janet Yellen Quoted

The U.S. government will distribute $4.5 billion in direct budget support to Ukraine to help the latter deal with economic, political and social pressures driven by Russian invasion.

The U.S. Agency for International Development said Tuesday it will coordinate with the departments of the Treasury and State to disburse the funds to Ukraine in two tranches before the end of 2022.

According to USAID, the additional funding will bring the U.S. government’s total direct budgetary support to Ukraine to $13 billion.

“These funds will begin disbursing in the coming weeks and help the Government of Ukraine defend against Russia’s illegal war by bolstering economic stability and supporting core government services, including wages for hospital workers, government employees, and teachers as well as social assistance for the elderly and vulnerable,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

“In addition to providing economic support, the Treasury Department and U.S. government will continue to use all of our tools, including our historic sanctions coalition, to weaken Putin’s war machine,” Yellen added.

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Marine Corps Reserve to Purchase Small Watercraft for Design 2030 Experimentation; Brig. Gen. Douglas Clark Quoted
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Marine Corps Reserve to Purchase Small Watercraft for Design 2030 Experimentation; Brig. Gen. Douglas Clark Quoted

The U.S. Marine Forces Reserve is teaming up with the Defense Innovation Unit and the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory to acquire commercially available small watercraft for the 2030 Service-level Force Design experimentation.

The reserve force said Monday that it has selected four small boats to be used to support Service-level experimentation and analysis across littoral, reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance and signature management to aid expeditionary advanced base operations. 

“What we’re doing here is generating opportunities for our Reserve Marines to get involved in Service-level innovation efforts and to help inform Force Design 2030 future capability requirements,” said Brig. Gen. Douglas Clark, 4th Marine Division commanding general.

The four selected vendors recently demonstrated their products at the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center in Tampa, Florida. Event attendees include DIU acquisition representatives, senior military leaders and Navy and Marine Corps experts who helped vet the watercraft.

The 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion will lead the expeditionary missions and therefore manage the contract awards next year, as well as the conceptualization and limited engineering experimentation.

The acquisition is being processed through DIU’s Commercial Solutions Opening solicitation. Procurement funds will come from the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Appropriation authorized by Congress.

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Mattermost’s Brendon Kruk on Taking Action in the Great Competition Era
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Mattermost’s Brendon Kruk on Taking Action in the Great Competition Era

The Potomac Officers Club sat down with Brendon Kruk, sales executive at Mattermost, to talk about U.S. foreign policy, driving change in the federal landscape and more during his recent Executive Spotlight interview. Kruk has over two decades of experience and expertise in software and providing technology to the federal government, and in his conversation with POC, he spoke on the importance of software innovation in global competition.

In this excerpt from his interview, Kruk discussed the changes he would enact in the federal government if he had free rein:

“I think we all work for the same team and want to achieve the same goals. What I see the most in the federal landscape is devoted workers that would like to accomplish their mission, but are hamstrung by red tape, overregulation and lack of congressional leadership. At such a crucial time for U.S. national security, my view is that our first three changes would revolve around recognition of the massive security threat posed by the rising power of China. I lived through the Cold War and studied the foreign policy of the USSR, and I do not have a comfortable sense of the urgency of the entire U.S. federal government to confront this challenge.”

Read more of Kruk’s answer to the question in his Executive Spotlight interview. Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits.

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Space Force Establishes Coordination Office at INDOPACOM; Gen. David Thompson Quoted
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Space Force Establishes Coordination Office at INDOPACOM; Gen. David Thompson Quoted

The U.S. Space Force has launched an operational component at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, Defense One reported Tuesday.

The new unit, which will be led by Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, marks the beginning of the agency’s efforts to establish permanent military facilities outside the continental U.S.

According to Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the Space Force, the organization’s new INDOPACOM coordination office will be run by 21 military and civilian employees, who will work on projects with the National Reconnaissance Office and other members of the intelligence community. The component will also manage offerings from commercial companies and INDOPACOM’s allies and partners.

The move gives the service branch direct access to INDOPACOM’s commander, Adm. John Aquilino, and is expected to further the integration of space capabilities with other branches of the military, Thompson said.

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Peraton Attains AWS Premier Tier Services Partner Status; Rebecca McHale Quoted
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Peraton Attains AWS Premier Tier Services Partner Status; Rebecca McHale Quoted

Peraton has attained Premier Tier Service Partner status in the Amazon Web Services Partner Network.

The title is given to organizations who hold multiple partner program validations and have a strong track record of delivering technical expertise to a large number of customers, the Reston, Virginia-based company announced on Monday.

“Achieving APN Premier Tier Services Partner status is a testament to our dedication, commitment, and investment to successfully guide our customers across the digital transformation continuum,” said Peraton CIO Rebecca McHale.

Peraton specializes in numerous AWS competencies and service areas. The company’s Cloud Migration competency aids in the improvement of application infrastructure security and modernization and reducing costs.

The AWS DevSecOps competency enables Peraton to offer a wide range of services and capabilities for integrating infrastructure management, code deployment, software automation and performance monitoring while maintaining security.

Peraton is also able to boost efficiency and reduce costs for clients spanning the federal government, states and local markets with its AWS competency.

AWS service areas of expertise include application services, which enable Peraton to deliver technology offerings to support digital reform across organizations, and managed services, which center around operating within the cloud and providing applications and data to cater to each client’s mission requirements.

Peraton has a strong relationship with AWS as a Partner Network Member. The enterprise holds over 700 AWS certifications and is an AWS Managed Service Provider and AWS Solution Provider.

“Less than two percent of Amazon partners within the network of 100 thousand organizations from more than 150 countries receive premier tier status,” emphasized Chris Valentino, Peraton’s chief strategy officer.

Within the partnership, Peraton has worked across defense, intelligence, health care and civilian markets in delivering AWS services in GovCloud, Commercial Cloud Services and commercial areas, which provides its customers with AWS Cloud perks when updating applications and infrastructure.

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DOE Selects 8 Companies to Commercialize Clean Energy Technologies; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Selects 8 Companies to Commercialize Clean Energy Technologies; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

Eight private companies have been selected by the Department of Energy to receive a total of $100 million in funding to provide technologies for clean energy production.

As tasked by the order, these organizations will develop new technologies to bolster clean energy infrastructure, the department announced on Wednesday.

“These projects will catalyze the commercialization of promising technologies so that they are available to be broadly deployed across the country in support of reaching our clean energy future,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

The companies represent the second cohort of awardees under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential program, which funds the development of technologies deemed feasible for domestic commercialization and deployment.

The chosen companies and their respective award amounts and tasks are:

  • Ampaire Inc. – $9 million for hybrid electric propulsion technology for aircraft
  • CorePower Magnetics, Inc. – $5 million for domestic manufacturing of high-power density magnetic components
  • Imagen Energy – $12 million for compact electric vehicle fast charger
  • InventWood – $20 million for MettleWood production
  • Kent Houston Offshore Engineering – $17.5 million for floating offshore wind turbine technologies equipped with a NASA-developed passive control system
  • Niron Magnetics – $17.5 million for rare earth-free Clean Earth Magnet
  • Quidnet Energy – $10 million for Geomechanical Pumped Storage
  • Via Separations – $9.75 million for innovative membrane modules

 

ARPA-E’s first SCALEUP funding award was granted to nine projects in 2019. The new awards bring the program’s total funding to over $170 million.
 

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